Paul McCartney the solo artist has done quite well for himself over the years. But it’s easy to forget there was a time when he hadn’t fully ventured out on his own, considering he almost immediately followed up his time with The Beatles by forming Wings. The 1982 album Tug of War proved a major turning point in his transformation from band member to fully fledged solo entity.
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The album proved a triumph for McCartney, albeit a bittersweet one, as he was still reeling from the death of John Lennon when he made it. Let’s look back at how Macca ventured into a new portion of his career, which required him jettisoning an old one.
Clipping Wings
The history books show that the experimental 1980 solo album McCartney II was followed up by Tug of War in the McCartney catalog. That might lead you to believe that Wings were done by the end of the ’70s. But McCartney intended McCartney II as a one-off and was ready to jump back in with his backing band to start the new decade.
He decided he would work with Beatles producer George Martin for his new album. Martin agreed, but insisted that he would only helm an album of high-quality material, meaning McCartney would have to prune until he was left with the cream of his songwriting crop. Macca began to run through rehearsals of the new songs with Wings throughout 1980.
However, these sessions proved fruitless. McCartney decided that he would pick whichever players he wanted for the album. Although Denny Laine, the only member of Wings beside Linda McCartney to last the entire run of the group, played on a few songs on the Tug of War album, the band was essentially kaput. There was never any formal announcement, but Wings never recorded or played live again.
Dealing with the Loss of a Friend
McCartney was just a few days into the actual Tug of War sessions when the news arrived that John Lennon had been murdered. Taking refuge in his work, he plowed ahead with recording, taking just a short Christmas break. The bulk of the album was recorded in 1981, with much of the tracking taking place at Martin’s AIR studios in Montserrat.
The absence of Wings meant that McCartney could call in whomever he wished to realize the songs on the album. Stevie Wonder added vocals to the already-written “Ebony and Ivory,” and then co-wrote and performed “What’s That You’re Doing?” with McCartney. Carl Perkins, an idol of McCartney’s, added guitar and vocals on “Get It.”
McCartney also worked with top session players like bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Steve Gadd. He found a new collaborator in guitarist Eric Stewart, who would work with him throughout the ’80s. And to reinforce The Beatles connection, he enlisted Ringo Starr on drums for a few tracks, including the hit single “Take It Away.”
McCartney had assembled a massive backlog of material for the album, but still found the time to write and record one more track all by himself. “Here Today” found him processing his feelings for Lennon in touching fashion. Martin added subtle orchestration to the track to top it all off. Recording of Tug of War was finally complete, and after a few delays for winnowing through the songs and mixing, it finally arrived in April 1982.
The Finished Product
Tug of War set a high bar for all future McCartney albums. It also proved what he could do when kept to task by a strong personality (Martin in this case) to not settle for whatever song rolled off his pen. And it showed how easily he could bounce between styles of music, giving listeners a varied experience.
The elegiac title track and “Take It Away” set the tone with sophisticated pop. “Here Today,” “Somebody Who Cares,” and “Wanderlust” give fans of the slow ones plenty of great stuff. The Wonder and Perkins collaborations show McCartney at ease with funk and rockabilly, respectively. Even a nostalgic throwback like “Ballroom Dancing” brims with energy and fun.
“Ebony and Ivory,” saccharine as it might be, also gave him a chart-topper to launch this new era in his career. Tug of War gave Beatles fans something to take their mind off their limitless grief. And it demonstrated that Paul McCartney could indeed leave the comfort of a band situation and be an effective ringleader for a cast of thousands.
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